INTA Participates in Anticounterfeiting Activities Across Three Continents

Published: September 1, 2018

Meeting with Comité National Anti-Contrefaçon (CNAC)

On June 28, INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo and INTA Anticounterfeiting Committee member Meriem Bourahla-Loudiyi (Servier, France) attended a meeting in Paris, France, with the Chair of the Comité National Anti-Contrefaçon (CNAC), Senator Richard Yung, and CNAC Coordinator Stéphanie Leguay. Under the National Industrial Property Institute of France (INPI), the CNAC aims to strengthen the national anticounterfeiting system through better coordination of the actions of administrations and the private sector. Before his work as a politician, Senator Yung was the Director General of INPI, Director of General Administration of the World Intellectual Property Organization, and Director of International Cooperation of the European Patent Office. The purpose of the meeting was to engage the French Senator in the idea of setting up a formal study of counterfeiting in the French Parliament and to explore ways that INTA could better support the work of the CNAC.

INTA Brings Delegation to Ottawa

On July 18, 2018, the Canada Subcommittee of the Anticounterfeiting Committee traveled to Ottawa, Canada, for a day of meetings to discuss the anticounterfeiting regime in Canada. The delegation included Canada Subcommittee Chair David Lipkus (Kestenberg Siegal Lipkus LLP, Canada); Jennifer Bleys (Chanel Inc., Canada); Tania D’Souza-Culora (Gowling WLG, Canada); Karen McDonald (Norton Rose Fulbright, Canada); Andrea Rush (Blaney McMurtry, LLP, Canada); Nathaly Vermette (DS Avocats, Canada); INTA consultant Gar Knutson (Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Canada); and INTA Senior Coordinator, Anticounterfeiting, Tiffany Pho.

The delegation first met with members of the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, including Mark Schaan, Director General, Marketplace Framework Policy Branch; Andrea Flewelling, Senior Project Leader, Policy Development; and Luc Laforest, Senior Policy Analyst, Copyright and Trade-mark Policy Directorate. The delegation discussed the current state of anticounterfeiting legislation in Canada following the recent release of the Intellectual Property (IP) Strategy from the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. INTA offered its support for future anticounterfeiting legislative changes.

The delegation also met with Michael Junek, Director, Program Policy and Management Division, Canada Border Services Agency, to discuss how INTA could assist in strengthening anticounterfeiting enforcement at the borders. INTA discussed the formation of an IP rights coordination center, based on the U.S. model, and offered its assistance in providing brand owner training for border officials to target counterfeit shipments through Customs Connection and in-person trainings. The delegation then met with Caitlin Gropp, Director of Parliamentary Affairs for Senator Joseph Day, and Arthur Lam, Policy Advisor, Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, to discuss how INTA could assist in making anticounterfeiting a priority within the Canadian Parliament.

INTA looks forward to working with the Canadian government on strengthening anticounterfeiting enforcement in the country.

Latin America & Caribbean Subcommittee Holds Training in BogotÁ

From July 24 to 27, 2018, the Latin America and Caribbean Subcommittee held a training session for Colombian Customs and police officers, in coordination with the Fiscal and Customs Police of Colombia (POLFA). The training was organized by Anticounterfeiting-Latin America & Caribbean Subcommittee Chair Claudette Vernot (Estrategia Juridica, Colombia) and gathered more than 40 enforcement officials from different regions. The training session was divided into four days, with the first day focusing on training the officials on customs suspensions, trademark enforcement, and IP rights. The second day allowed brand owner members to train the police on their brand history and their brand identification. Participating brand owners included Polo Ralph Lauren, Crocs, Luxottica, UL, and Moët Hennessy. POLFA’s Sub Director, Colonel Nicolas Carmen, provided closing remarks and reaffirmed POLFA’s commitment to the fight against counterfeits.

The Anticounterfeiting Committee also hosted a customs training session in Iquique, Chile, on July 31. For more information, please see the August 15, 2018, Latin America Update.

Middle East & Africa Subcommittee Participates in Kenya Trade Exposition

From July 30 to August 3, 2018, INTA participated in the second Kenya Trade Week & Exposition, held in Nairobi, Kenya. The theme for this year’s exposition was “Powering Kenya Big 4 Agenda Through Trade.” Hazel Okoth (Gikera & Vadgama Advocates, Kenya), member of the Anticounterfeiting-Middle East & Africa Subcommittee, represented INTA at the exposition, which drew more than 5,000 delegates from the private and public sectors. Ms. Okoth spoke on a panel focused on “Best Practices in Combatting Illicit Trade: An International Perspective,” organized by the Anti-Counterfeit Agency of Kenya. Ms. Okoth spoke about the work of the Anticounterfeiting Committee and the economic and social impacts of counterfeiting and piracy. She also spoke about the harms that counterfeit products pose to the health and safety of consumers worldwide.

Ms. Okoth referred to the INTA‒International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) BASCAP impact study, The Economic Impacts of Counterfeiting and Piracy, to demonstrate the growth of counterfeiting globally, and concluded by recognizing the efforts of the Kenyan government in working with the private sector to curb illicit trade and the flow of counterfeit goods. She encouraged all stakeholders to work together in combating the flow of counterfeit goods.

For more information on the customs trainings or on INTA’s anticounterfeiting activities, please contact INTA Anticounterfeiting Manager Maysa Razavi, at [email protected]; Anticounterfeiting Senior Coordinator Tiffany Pho, at [email protected]; or Valentina Salmoiraghi, Anticounterfeiting Advisor, Asia-Pacific, at [email protected].

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of items in the INTA Bulletin, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest. Law & Practice updates are published without comment from INTA except where it has taken an official position.

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